The UWF men's soccer team enjoys a visit to the statue of the Christ in Rio de Janeiro. [Click to enlarge]

Although Brazil is known for having great salsa dancing, athletes from the University of West Florida were seeking a different kind of fancy footwork from this hot vacation spot.

When Hurricane Ivan kicked soccer out of the university, the men's soccer team had to cancel their season. After a long school year, the team still set their goals high and made sure not to pass on an opportunity to play soccer in Brazil.

Head Coach Bill Elliott said that after Ivan, the team practiced as much as the NCAA would allow. But the Field House was damaged, sports information could not operate, administrative offices had been destroyed, and no hotels were available for opposing teams to stay in if the season had continued.

"After the hurricane, I tried to keep variety in the practices," Elliott said. "My largest task was to keep the team motivated when there were no games to be played."

After the worst had passed, Elliott was presented with the opportunity in July to take the team to Brazil, where they could practice and play with Brazilian club teams whose players were between the ages of 17 and 20. Elliott took the Argos to Brazil on one other occasion in 2001, and he was happy to accept the offer for a second time.

Seven of the team's returning players were able to participate in the trip by using funds that had been allocated for travel in the 2004 season and by participating in fund-raisers. Elliott said there only was enough money to cover half the total cost per player, so the men that decided to go worked hard to come up with the rest of the funds on their own.

The Argos first destination when in Brazil was the city of Belo Horizonte, where they stayed at a large soccer club called Cruzeiro.

"Cruzeiro was an all-inclusive soccer facility with some of the best fields in the area," Elliott said. "All of Cruzeiro's youth teams live and train at the facility, so we were able to stay in the dorms with them and get the full experience."

In Brazil, professional soccer teams have their own clubs with youth teams that play under them. Elliott said the skill of these club teams in comparison to the professional teams in Brazil is equivalent to the skill of American minor league baseball teams, when comparing them to the major leagues.

"Half of the youth on these club teams will sign contracts to play professional soccer within the next three years," Elliott said. "Their teams are more technical and have great ball control. They play a lot of shorter passes with more individual flare than we see in the average college game."

The Argos played two games in Belo Horizonte losing the first game to Cruzeiro 5-3 and defeating Football Club America 2-1 in the second.

After staying five nights in Belo Horizonte, the Argos went on to Nova Friburgo, where they stayed and trained for three days at Friburgense soccer club. The team stayed in a house by the stadium and got to see what life is like in the more poverty-stricken areas of Brazil.

"Some of our players had never been outside of America," Elliott said. "It was good for them to see how other people live around the world and to see how life differs throughout different parts of Brazil. Some of the areas we went to were far worse than any ghetto here in America, and it was a good learning experience for them as a group."

The team's final destination was Rio Dejanero, Brazil, where they spent six days. They stayed in a hotel across from Barra Beach and played two games with one win and one loss.

The first game played by the Argos was against Football Club Bayer, where they won

3-1. The Argos were defeated 4-0 by Bangu, a Brazilian professional team.

Eduardo Oliveira, 23, a senior from Rio Dejanero, said that it was great to see his American team experience his home country of Brazil.

"Because I live in Florida, I have become accustomed to the way Americans think," Oliveira said. "But it was great to see my teammates become a part of my culture and experience the way a Brazilian person lives. They got to see both the good and the bad things that Brazilians experience and can now take those experiences with them and relate it back to what they know about America."

Oliveira said it felt different for him to play soccer in Brazil while being on an American team. When the Argos played in Rio Dejanero, some of the referees recognized Oliveira and remembered him from the Brazilian team he played with five years ago.

"In Brazil, soccer is the most popular and coveted sport," Oliveira said. "Many of the guys on our team had only played soccer in the USA, so I was glad to see them experience the excitement and skill level of Brazilian soccer."

Nick Mroczkowski, 20, a junior on the men's soccer team, said his favorite experience while in Brazil was watching the professional team Vasco play a game in Rio de Janeiro.

"Professional games in the USA have 5,000 to 6,000 fans that attend. But in Brazil, the professional soccer teams have around 30,000 fans watch their games," Mroczkowski said. "That is more people than attend our NFL and NBA games."

Mroczkowski said the fans have great passion and love for the game, and their noise level made it very exciting to be sitting in the stadium.

"Every time Vasco scored, their fans would raise a huge Brazilian flag that was as large as an entire section in the stands," Mroczkowski said. "They even let off fireworks from the stands."

Mroczkowski said people in Brazil will play pickup soccer games 24 hours a day and that you cannot walk farther than a block without seeing a soccer field.

"I wish America could get to their level of soccer," Mroczkowski said. "It is like being on another planet."

He said you couldn't teach Brazilian soccer; you only can admire it. He said soccer players in Brazil are born with their talent.

"When Americans step on a soccer field, they see green grass," Mroczkowski said. "But when Brazilians step on a soccer field, they see a church."

The Argos said the most important thing gained from their Brazilian experience, was building stronger team bonds. Because the team consists mostly of underclassmen, a majority of the players will be together for the next couple of years.

Elliot said this experience has been important in the team's overall development.

"Being together for that time period forced the players to get to know more than just their friends on the team," Elliott said. "They got to see a different style of soccer as a team, and played against teams with a very high level of experience."

Since their return from Brazil, the team has had a record of 5-4-1. Their next home game is 7:30 p.m. Friday against William Carey College.

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